Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong and US President Barack Obama approved the Shared Vision Statement in talks at the Oval Office on the morning of July 7 (local time).

President Obama welcomed the official visit by General Secretary Trong and the high-ranking Vietnamese delegation. He stressed that the US attaches special importance to its relations with Vietnam and the latter’s role in the Asia-Pacific region, expressing his hope for stronger bilateral relations in the time ahead in the interests of the two countries and the region.

For his part, General Secretary Trong affirmed Vietnam’s consistent and long-term policy of treasuring the development of relations with the US. The full implementation and continuous intensification of their comprehensive partnership under the principles of respecting each other’s independence, sovereignty and political regime without any interference in each other’s internal affairs is the foundation for building trust and raising bilateral ties to a new level.

Both sides recognized the positive developments of the relationship in various fields over the last 20 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations, in particular the development of economic and trade cooperation, cooperation in dealing with the consequences of war, as well as cooperation in science and technology, education, health, the environment, climate change response, defense and security, human rights, and international issues.

The positive results of the Vietnam-US relationship is due to both sides having made efforts to overcome the past and their differences to promote common interests towards the future.

Shared Vision Statement: Deepening the sustainable partnership

Looking to bilateral ties and promoting the comprehensive partnership, the two leaders agreed to continue to implement full and sustainable relations on the basis of respecting the Charter of the United Nations, international law, and the political institutions, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of each other.

They also hailed the positive progress achieved during negotiations over the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and underlined the importance of the pact for regional development and its contribution to global growth and stability.

They affirmed that the TPP needs to take into account the developmental level of negotiating members and respect their political and cultural differences, creating new momentum for fostering cooperation between the US and the Asia-Pacific region.

The two also exchanged opinions on human rights and education cooperation as well as measures to facilitate visas to encourage higher numbers of tourists, students and entrepreneurs moving between the two countries.

Strengthened cooperation in international issues

Regarding international issues, General Secretary Trong and President Obama agreed that the maintenance of peace, stability, security, safety and freedom of navigation and aviation in the East Sea is a common interest and responsibility of the regional and international communities.

The two countries expressed concern about recent happenings in the East Sea, which have been increasingly tense and affected peace, security and stability in the region.

They both agreed to support the principle of resolving disputes via peaceful means on the basis of respect for international law, including the 1982 UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), implementing strictly and fully the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the East Sea (DOC), and working towards the early conclusion of a Code of Conduct on the East Sea (COC), where there is no use of or threat to use force or the conduct of acts that further complicate the situation in the East Sea.

Concluding the talks, President Obama said the existing differences between the two sides in some issues would be resolved through diplomatic efforts not only within the bilateral framework but also via multilateral channels and ASEAN cooperation.

The Party leader said Vietnam and the US have become friends and comprehensive partners. He also affirmed that relations will further grow in the future, thanks to the strategic vision and the efforts of leaders of both countries and the support of the people, because the relations suit the people’s interests and the current development trend of peace, friendship, cooperation and development.